Britain to Fine Social Media Giants 10% of Annual Earnings for Failing to Remove Illegal Content
© Getty ImagesBritain's latest rules on Internet censorship were introduced on Monday, as the country's telecommunications regulator published a list of content that needs to be removed from social media to avoid multi-million pound fines
Ofcom, the British government's media and telecommunications regulator, has published a set of guidelines that platforms such as Meta, Google and TikTok must comply with by March or risk being fined for Under the 2023 approval of the Cybersecurity Act
The guidance lists 130 different illegal activities that should be prohibited and prevented, including incitement to terrorism, human trafficking and the sharing of child sexual abuse material
Also banned are “incitement to racial hatred” or “hatred on the basis of religion or sexual orientation”, which, although not fully defined, are already illegal under British law
Some errors are “complex”, Ofcom wrote. “It most likely involves transactions between users, or it involves semi-online transactions, or it can incarnate one or more relevant people appearance, personality or age problems.”Britain's latest rules on Internet censorship were introduced on Monday, as the country's telecommunications regulator published a list of content that needs to be removed from social media to avoid multi-million pound fines
Ofcom, the British government's media and telecommunications regulator, has published a set of guidelines that platforms such as Meta, Google and TikTok must comply with by March or risk being fined for Under the 2023 approval of the Cybersecurity Act
The guidance lists 130 different illegal activities that should be prohibited and prevented, including incitement to terrorism, human trafficking and the sharing of child sexual abuse material
Also banned are “incitement to racial hatred” or “hatred on the basis of religion or sexual orientation”, which, although not fully defined, are already illegal under British law
Some errors are “complex”, Ofcom wrote. “It most likely involves transactions between users, or it involves semi-online transactions, or it can incarnate one or more relevant people appearance, personality or age problems.”
The original Cybersecurity Act included a prohibition on certain “legal but harmful” content. But the clause was withdrawn from the bill last year after then-Minister for Trade and Industry Kemi Badenoch complained that it was a “hurt feelings bill”.
However, after a wave of anti-immigrant and Islamist riots hit the UK in August, Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly considered reintroducing the controversial clause, but ultimately decided not to, according to n 'a spokesman for the office said.
Companies that fail to comply with Ofcom’s new rules could face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover, which is more than £18 million ($22.8 million) and private directors could face jail time for offenders often, when Ofcom UK's platform You can seek a court order to block access.
According to Ofcom, the rules apply to more than 100,000 companies worldwide, from the biggest social media platforms to “very small” providers of entertainment, dating, gambling and other online services.